CULTURE

Latest News

• Kurds and their friends meet at the Culture Festival in the Netherlands 

  This year's International Kurdish Culture Festival is hosted in the Netherlands. People came from dozens of locations across European to attend the festival.
• US hands back Gilgamesh Dream Tablet to Iraq 

  A 3,600-year-old tablet showing part of the Epic of Gilgamesh was handed back to Iraq by the US on Thursday.
• Street theatre in Northern and Eastern Syria 

  Kawa Fettah from the Theater Commune, brought the theater to society, performing on the streets of Northern and Eastern Syria.
• Court schedules hearing of writer Meral Şimşek for 5 October 

  The trial of Meral Şimşek continued in Malatya. The Kurdish writer faces up to 22 and a half years’ imprisonment for alleged PKK membership and propaganda for an illegal organisation. Books, awards and short stories count as evidence.
• Aryen Culture, Art and Research Atelier in Van trains very small children in Kurdish 

  Aryen Culture, Art and Research Atelier in Van educates future artists to preserve and pass on Kurdish culture by providing music education to children aged 2 to 5 in Kurdish.
• Meral Şimşek: I will not remain silent 

  Meral Şimşek is a Kurdish writer and mother of two children. She faces up to 15 years in prison in Turkey because of her books. During an illegal pushback from Greece, she was abused by masked men and thrown into the Maritsa.
• Artists from Raqqa attend 3rd Hawar Festival in Shehba 

  Artists from Raqqa attended the 3rd Hawar Festival and drew attention to the resistance of the people of Afrin saying that they wanted to keep the Kurdish heritage alive despite all difficulties.
• Historical sites in Afrin looted and vandalized 

  In occupied Afrin, excavations were carried out by the occupation forces at more than 60 archaeological sites and the sites were devastated with construction machinery.
• School authorities in Cologne look for teacher of Kirmanckî 

  According to UNESCO, Kirmanckî is one of the languages ​​threatened with extinction. The school authorities in Cologne are looking for a teacher for 20 hours a week for native language lessons at elementary, special and secondary schools.
• Kurdish diplomacy at Humanité Festival 

  The Kurds made a mark for themselves in the Humanité Festival, which was organized by the French communist newspaper Humanité.
• 'Memory of Kobane' introduced in Bern 

  During the European Cultural Heritage Days held in Bern, a memory museum on Kobane has been introduced, and clay tablets made by Swiss and Kurdish artists have been exhibited.
• ‘Abdullah Öcalan’ booth at Folk Festival in Vienna 

  At the Folk Festival (Volksfest) held in Vienna, Kurdish youth movements TCŞ and TekoJIN opened an information booth introducing the Kurdish people’s leader Abdullah Öcalan.
• 3rd Hawar Festival to kick off in Shehba on Monday  

  Afrin Culture and Art Committee named the 21-person Committee for the 3rd Hawar Festival and started the preparations for the festival.
• 6th children's festival opens in Hesekê  

  The 6th children's festival started in Hesekê and saw the participation of 16 children's art groups.
• Martyr Xabur Culture and Art Center: from ISIS training school to cultural venue 

  Martyr Xabur Culture and Art Center, which was turned into a center where mercenaries received ideological education during the occupation of ISIS, was turned into a culture, art and music school after the liberation of the district.
• Liturgy in Armenian Holy Trinity Church in Malatya after 106 years 

  For the first time in 106 years, people of Christian faith have been able to attend a religious service in the Armenian Trinity Church in Malatya. The church had been closed for community use since the genocide of 1915.
• Stêrk TV presenter Şêrko Celal passed away due to Covid-19 

  Stêrk TV presenter Şêrko Celal passed away on Saturday in a hospital in France where he was being treated for Covid-19.
• Linguist Necmiye Alpay: “Respect for mother tongue is vital for social peace” 

  Linguist Necmiye Alpay, who commented on the TV host Didem Arslan's discriminatory remarks on the Kurdish language, stated that "Respect for mother tongues is one of the minimum conditions of social peace; this needs to be realized now."
• PEN International launches campaign for Kurdish writer Meral Şimşek 

  Kurdish PEN member, writer and poet Meral Şimşek is facing up to 15 years in prison on the charge of ‘membership of a terrorist organisation’ and up to seven-and-a-half-years on the charge of ‘making terrorist propaganda’.
• Tabqa 2nd Cultural Music Festival opens tomorrow 

  Tabqa Culture and Art Committee is preparing for the 2nd Local and Cultural Music Festival which will begin tomorrow, 28 August.
• 5500-year-old houses uncovered in Malatya 

  The remains of houses built 5500 years ago have been uncovered in the Arslantepe excavation site in Malatya. In addition to the four houses, 28 graves have also been discovered that are believed to be a thousand years old.
• Amed City Theatre to offer free workshops 

  Amed City Theatre will offer free workshops including theatre training.
• Guerrillas release music video praising the Zendura resistance 

  The guerrillas have released a music video dedicated to the Zendura resistance.
• HDP demands respect for Kurdish language and culture 

  A society whose language is not free cannot liberate itself. The HDP condemns the criminalization of Kurdish language and culture in Turkey and demands respect.
• Hajin Youth Assembly opens exhibition featuring photographs of Abdullah Öcalan 

  Hajin Youth Assembly opened an exhibition featuring photographs of Kurdish people’s leader Abdullah Öcalan.